Head of "Caucasian Home" returns "Tolerance Defender" Award to Georgian Ombudsperson

Naira Gelashvili, the head of the "Caucasian Home" Centre for Cultural Interrelations, has refused from the "Tolerance Defender" Award in protest against granting this award to Giga Bokeriya, the leader of the "United National Movement" (UNM). However, the head of the Council on Religions under the Office of the Georgian Ombudsperson believes that the award was granted fairly.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 7, 2007, an oppositional rally demanding the resignation of the then Georgia's President Mikhail Saakashvili was dispersed in Tbilisi. About 600 people suffered in clashes with policemen.

Naira Gelashvili, a writer, received the award about ten years ago for her support of ethnic and religious minorities.

"The idea of the Ombudsperson is to support the oppressed, not the violence... Ten years ago, the UNM held an unprecedented massacre, and the 'Rustavi-2' TV was an accomplice therein," Ms Gelashvili has stated on air of the "Georgian Public Broadcaster".

The non-governmental organization (NGO) "Liberty Institute" was founded in 1996 by employees of the "Rustavi-2" TV Company. From 1996 to 2004, Giga Bokeriya worked there as a coordinator of human rights programmes and a senior legal adviser.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.